A Mother's Will
by Azahkhiel
Summary: She knew her stay was long overdue, but she couldn't help it. She just couldn't leave that child.


Author's Notes:

I'm not really sure what I wanted to point out in this story, but the idea was just too tempting to not write and it wouldn't leave my mind. So i wrote it. Hope it's interesting enough. ^^

Also, for those who are reading my other fic, The Last Sky, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update since I've been in a slump for that story after I posted chapter 17. No worries though, I'll try to update this month.

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is not mine. Never has, never will be. It belongs to Amano sensei

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A Mother's Will

"Tsu-kun! Hurry up or you're going to be late for school!" Nana called out, standing by the foot of the stairs, before sighing. Her Tsu-kun was going to be late again even though she already heard the alarm clock going off around thirty minutes ago before it was turned off. She even went upstairs to wake him up when her son didn't get up fifteen minutes later.

"He probably fell asleep again." She mumbled to herself, lightly titling her head to the side, as she listened to her son squeaking and yelping followed by loud thuds and stomping around the second floor as he hurried to get ready for school.

Honestly, her Tsu-kun should learn to wake up early. She wasn't there all the time to wake him up and help him prepare for school. Then again, she mused, Tsu-kun probably didn't hear her when she came up earlier to wake him up. That'd been happening more frequently these past few weeks.

She took a glance at the clock hanging on the living room wall and sighed. At this rate, her son was really going to be late. "Tsu-kun!"

This time her son seemed to finally hear her and a muffled "I-I'm coming!" was immediately heard. After a few more stomping and yelping, the familiar chocolate brown eyes and gravity-defying hair sticking out in odd angles here and there came to view and Nana watched as her son, dishelved uniform and all, ran down the stairs and was several steps down when he suddenly tripped on his own feet and fell face first on the floor below.

"Ow..."

"Oh my, Tsu-kun, are you okay?" Nana asked worriedly as she watched her son sit up and rubbed his face. "I-I'm fine mom." He mumbled, wincing a bit as his hand swiped at his nose, and stood up. "Are you sure?" she asked again as her Tsu-kun dusted his pants, nodding a little before his head snapped up to the clock. "HIIIIEEEEE! OH NO! I'M GONNA BE LATE!" she couldn't help but wince a bit, being so close to her son as he gave his signature shriek and her Tsu-kun quickly straightened up, grabbed his bag and headed straight for the front door.

"Ah, wait! Tsu-kun! Breakfast!" Nana called out, following her son to the door. "Won't you have some breakfast first?" she asked. However, she didn't get a response and she watched as her son fervently tied his shoe laces.

"Tsu-kun-"

"I-I have to s-skip breakfast. I-I'll be l-late if I eat breakfast. H-hibari-san will b-bite me to death if I'm late" Tsu-kun said rather nervously and stood up and grabbed his bag once more.

Nana stood by the genkan, hands held together near her chest, and watched as her little Tsu-kun attempted to fix his uniform. She hadn't been able to talk to her son much recently and as much as she'd been unsettled by this, she couldn't really do anything about it. After all, she was-

"I'm going now."

She blinked and looked up to meet chocolate brown eyes. Tsu-kun was already halfway out of the door and was waiting for something. And it was only then that she realized that he was waiting for _her_ response. Silently reprimanding herself for not noticing, she smiled. "See you later, Tsu-kun." she said and gave a small wave.

Her son's lips quirked into a small smile and nodded before running off; his footsteps resounding through the concrete before it was cut off by the door closing.

She stood there for a moment, the smile on her face slowly fading, and let out a sigh before she turned to head back to the kitchen. However she stopped mid-way, shoulders tensing, when she sensed the other presence in the house that she'd accidentally ignored in favour of worrying whether her son would be late or not. Slowly, she turned; stopping when she'd finally done a 180 and stared at the small figure standing in the middle of the hallway.

Deep, dark eyes hidden beneath a black fedora locked into her own caramel ones.

Nana silently berated herself. She had been careless and had forgotten, due to the everyday habit of waking and helping her Tsu-kun prepare for school, that they had a small guest that arrived yesterday and would be staying in their house for an indefinite amount of time and she had gone on as usual _talking_ to her son.

And her Tsu-kun had _talked back_ to her.

She watched, hands slightly fidgeting, as the small baby wearing the black fedora hat stared at her; neither sound nor movement coming from either of them, before the small baby decided to break the silence.

"Does he know?" the simplicity of the question didn't make it hard for Nana to understand what the baby was asking and that the baby had the same ability as her son. However, it wasn't the one she'd expected to be asked and it took her a moment to find the right words to say.

After a few seconds, she decided to answer. "Yes. He does." She says.

"How long?" the baby – No, Reborn, if she remembered the name correctly – asked again.

"Four years." She says again.

Reborn-chan didn't say anything after and when another blanket of silence fell on them, this time Nana felt it was her turn to break it. "I didn't know Reborn-chan could see me." She said, smiling a little as she did so.

Reborn-chan's lips quirked to a smirk – No. that was more like a smile, she told herself – appeared on his face and titled his head so that he was fully facing her. "Of course. I am the greatest hitman in the world. The ability to sense these things is an invaluable skill." He piqued before turning and heading for the kitchen.

Nana's smile grew a bit more at the cuteness of the baby. "Yes, I suppose it is." she said good-naturedly and followed Reborn-chan to the kitchen. She remembered yesterday when the little fedora wearing Reborn-chan came yesterday announcing himself as Tsu-kun's tutor sent by his father. They talked for a while – her Tsu-kun and Reborn-chan – and mentions of the words mafia and hitman were heard a few times but she had a hard time understanding it. She stopped by the kitchen counter and watched as Reborn hopped onto the dining table with ease before sitting cross-legged in the middle.

He turned to her. "I have to admit, I was quite surprised when I saw you the moment I entered your house. If I didn't know anything, I'd have thought you really are still..." Reborn's voice suddenly trailed off as if he caught himself from revealing a secret that wasn't supposed to be talked about and Nana could only smile despondently at that. "You don't have to be uncomfortable about it Reborn-chan. I don't really mind. After all I'm..."

She lowered her head down to where her feet should be and her eyes met the sight of her legs fading out into the light brown color of the kitchen's floor.

"I'm already dead." She finished; the smile on her face turning into a sad one and she raised her hands only to see that they were starting to become transparent as well.

There was once a time, around four years ago, when she could still see herself clearly, eyes hair, limbs and all, and her Tsu-kun would always tell her that if anyone else who could see her did see her, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference at all. However, that was four years ago. She had been dead for eight.

"And Tsuna didn't know you were until he was ten?"

The question had a tint of curiosity and incredulousness in it and Nana blinked. Looking back up, she noted that there was a slight, almost nonexistent change within the black orbs that were staring at her and her smile lost the sadness in it. "No." She answered truthfully. "I think Tsu-kun had known for a long time. It's just... I think it just didn't sink in to him until he had grown up a little more." Suddenly a memory from four years ago flashed in her mind.

It was already mid-afternoon and the sun was starting to turn into a shade of light orange when her little Tsu-kun came to the kitchen; large doe eyes so much like hers staring at her with an intensity so much like his father's, asking her the one question she had been dreading yet at the same time expecting from her lovely child.

"_Mom, are you dead?"_

She remembered staring at her son after that; for how long, she couldn't remember. But after a long moment of silence and the unbearable gaze asking, _begging_, for her response, she had finally told her son the truth.

"How did he handle it?" Reborn-chan's question snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned back to look at Reborn-chan. "He..." she started, thinking back to that day four years ago; to the ten year-old Tsu-kun standing before her, demanding the truth and nodding in understanding as she told him the truth. "He listened." She finally said. "He just stood there by the doorway, listening as I told him the truth and he... he, just acted like he always does. Never once distancing himself." she said, her tone softening on the last part.

Her mind went back to that day and remembered how scared she was. She was scared, _afraid_, that once she had confirmed her little Tsu-kun's suspicion that her son would be frightened. That he would _shun_ her and recoil away and leave to live with Iemitsu, leaving her all alone. But he didn't do that. Tsu-kun remained the same. Tsu-kun, her cute, adorable, little Tsu-kun still treated her in the same way he always did and smiled at her and _loved_ her just the way he always did and she was so relieved that she cried a few days after Tsu-kun had confronted her.

"That's good then." Reborn-chan said, smiling and her smile grew and brightened along with it. "Yes. It is." She said and let her eyes roam around the kitchen when a thought suddenly popped into her head. She turned to Reborn. "You know, I would have loved to prepare some tea and snacks for you, Reborn-chan. But sadly, I can't do those things anymore." She said apologetically before running a hand on the kitchen counter. "I haven't done so many things in such a long time." she let her hand rest by the edge of the stove, a sudden longing blooming in her chest and she smiled wryly. "It sometimes makes me wonder why I'm still here."

"Why are you still here?"

Nana lifted her head up and looked at Reborn-chan, deep, black eyes looking at her as if he could read her like an open book. "Hmm, why indeed..." she hummed, titling her head a little to the side.

A flash of watery chocolate brown eyes ran through her mind and in that moment, she suddenly remembered what happened _that_ day.

She couldn't exactly remember what happened the day she had died. All she could remember was that she'd been sick, terribly so, and had been paralyzed in bed for days before her body gave up. When she came to, it didn't take her long to realize what had happened. But what really drove her to stay was that one afternoon a couple of days after her death.

She heard voices, angry and tired and _desperate_, and she had instantly recognized them belonging to the two most important people in her life and had gone into the living room just in time to see what was happening. Tsu-kun, her shy and gentle Tsu-kun was crying and _shouting_ at his father who had a look of defeat and grief and worry and frustration mixed into one as he tried to calm the six year-old down. She couldn't understand at first what was going on, but then she heard it, her son's, her little Tsu-kun's desperate cry and her heart broke.

"_You're going to take her away! Don't take her away!"_

She remembered crying as she watched the scene unfold in front of her; watched as Iemitsu brought their little son into a tight embrace, offering what comfort he could give to their son who was still too young to understand the concept of death, and how that night, as she tried to sneak in to her son's room to see how he was doing, when she found Tsu-kun sitting up in bed, _staring_ at her and asked if she could stay with him; asking her to not leave him alone and Nana didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

"I couldn't leave him." she finally said, turning back to meet Reborn-chan's unwavering stare. "I just thought that Tsu-kun was far too young to lose his mother." Her voice softened into a whisper and her gaze lowered to her clasped hands resting by her stomach. "I didn't want him to be alone."

Silence, thick but not uncomfortable, pervaded the air and Nana was once more left to her own thoughts.

Eight years.

She had never really thought that she'd be able to stay for such a long time. All she thought was that she couldn't leave her little Tsu-kun alone at home. Because Tsu-kun was still afraid of sleeping alone in the dark and would cry whenever there was a thunderstorm and would need someone to help him when he tripped or bumped into a tree or a post and someone to nurse him when he was sick or help him in his studies and even teach him how to cook.

There were so many things she wanted to teach her son and her son didn't want her to leave. The fact that her son could see her didn't even bother her that much. All that she really cared about and mattered to her was that Tsu-kun still needed her. So she stayed.

"You have a strong will."

Those five words brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to meet black orbs. "To have been able to continue on like this for eight years, you have a very strong will. However," unwavering black orbs continued to stare at her. "You know that you can't stay here forever." He paused. "You know that, right?" Reborn-chan asked.

Blinking, Nana smiled, not a sad one or a bright one, just her normal Nana-esque – as her son once put it – smile, and answered with acceptance lacing her words. "Yes, Reborn-chan, I know." She knew her stay was long overdue, but she couldn't help it. She just couldn't leave that child alone.

Everything had its limits, she knew that; especially for someone like her. The times that her Tsu-kun could barely hear her and that her body was slowly but surely starting to fade was proof of that. Nevertheless, she wasn't bothered. It was a fact she had already accepted a long time ago.

"By the way, Reborn-chan." She called out, moving closer to the dining table where the baby was sitting on. "You said that you're going to tutor Tsu-kun, didn't you?" she asked.

Reborn-chan tilted his head a little higher to look at her before he nodded. "That's right. I will make sure that Tsuna will be trained to become someone who will lead and protect others with his dying will." He said and her smile grew. "For how long?" she asked.

"For as long as it takes, Sawada-sa-"

"Call me Mama." She interjected.

Reborn-chan blinked. "Mama then. I will be tutoring him for as long as it takes for him to become a competent boss." he said.

She leaned a bit on the table and stared at Reborn-chan. "Then, can I... ask a favour?" She asked, her voice coming out a bit meek.

Reborn-chan raised a brow at that but remained silent. She took that as her cue to continue. "When... When the time finally comes that I... move on. Will you watch over my dear Tsu-kun?" she asked.

Reborn-chan blinked and she couldn't help but get the impression that the he was taken aback. "Are you sure about this, Mama?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, Reborn-chan." Call it a mother's instincts, but something was telling her that she could trust Reborn-chan with taking care of her Tsu-kun when the time comes that she had to leave. Even if Reborn-chan was a baby.

Reborn-chan lowered his head and crossed his arms as he considered her request. After a while he looked up, a small smile on his face. "I understand Mama." He said.

She would have given Reborn-chan a big, tight hug if she could, however, given her circumstance, she settled for a genuine, bright smile. "Thank you, Reborn-chan." She said gratefully before standing straight again and glancing at the clock. "Hmm, Tsu-kun still won't be home for a few more hours." She mumbled before an idea popped into her head. "Reborn-chan, if you wouldn't mind, would you like to spend some time with me?" she asked the fedora wearing baby.

"Only if you don't mind, Mama." Reborn-chan answered back and she giggled. "I don't." She said before she moved towards the doorway, gesturing happily for Reborn-chan to follow her. "We can pass the time looking at some pictures! Iemitsu has a ton of albums of Tsu-kun starting from when he was born to up until his visit a couple of months ago. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." she said cheerfully.

A sadistic – No. Reborn-chan's probably just excited, Nana noted – glint passed Reborn-chan's dark eyes before he stood up and hopped down beside her. "I'd like that Mama."

She smiled at that and led the way to the living room where all of Iemitsu's photo albums were neatly kept in the bookshelf. As she pointed to Reborn-chan which album was which, she couldn't help but think about what Reborn-chan told her.

A strong will.

Perhaps, Reborn-chan was right. It wasn't her _want_ that made her able to stay by her son's side, it was her _will_. And she hoped from the bottom of her heart that her will could still last a little longer. She wanted to teach her son more about life. She wanted to see him grow up a little more, just enough to show her that her little boy was no longer a child; that her little Tsu-kun would no longer be afraid of the dark or cry when scared. She wanted to see her dear Tsu-kun fall down and to be able to stand up on his own two feet and move forward.

She supposed it will be only then that she would be able to rest.

Noticing Reborn-chan's gaze on her, she mildly shook her head and smiled, pointing to one of the albums she wanted to show Reborn-chan.

She will stay for as long as she could.

And for the child that loved and accepted her, she will make sure to live it through.

That was what it meant to be a mother.

That was her will.

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Thank you for reading! I hoped you liked this little one shot. ^^


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